Epidemiology is concerned with the distribution and incidence of diseases in space and time, as influenced by natural and cultural environments. There is no contradiction of the fact that ecology and socio-cultural factors influence diseases. Socio-cultural facts associated with variations in age sex, ethnicity, class,community and occupation can have significant bearingson epidemiological phenomena. Age, Sex and occupational differences have correlations with the incidence of certain types of diseases.
Among non-literate and tradition –bound tribal people certain cultural habits, like bathing in the same pond or stream water along with their bovine animals,non-use of water for analwashing after defecation, non-washing of menstrual fluid, non washing of hand before eating food and non –washing of mouth after eating the principal meals do hav some sort of adverse impact on their health. A peculiar cultural practice is found among the Saora and Koya is that when a person is suffering from fever,running high temperature and experiencing rigorand spasm the patient is made to lie down under the sun .Their logic is that high Temperature of the body would be neutralized by the heat of the rays of the sun.
Social and cultural factor are causally connected with the disease occurrness indirectly, and malnutrition , and malnutrition induces a number of diseases their own utensils for feeding the domestic animals ,particularly pig,dog cat and mongoose
Social and culttual distinctions associated with difference in age,sex and occupation do have significant effects on epidemiological phenomena.
Age Differences
Due to lack of physiological resistance tribal children are suscepitable to several diseases, such as diarrhea dysentery, dyspepsia, common cold, fever, jaundice, scabies, ringworm, anemia,etc. Death rate is relatively high among infants.The incidence of numerous acute infections is higher among children . As people grow older they develop immunities that decrease their vulnerability to these diseases.
Sex Difference
Biological factors play a large part in sexual differences and mortality, with females having longer life expectancy. However, women frequently suffer from reproductive diseases, sustain overy and breast ailments. Men on the other hand are affected by renal and cardiovascular diseases. More tribal women suffer from arthritis as they are frequently anemic and always carry heavy loads on their head. Serveral tribal women after childbirth suffer from gynecological and obstetric problem and in the process become vulnerable to other types of ailments.
Occupational Differences
There is acorrelation between occupation and diseases . Effect of occupation on disease have been an important aspect of epidemiology, because social aspects of pathology indicate that susceptibility to disease varies in accordance with the means of a livehood . Tribals whoraise pigs suffer from worm infestation. Likewise ,tribals working in cement factories suffer from thoracic diseases.
Social Status and Ethnic Differences
Influence of social status and ethnic differences on disease occurrence has been established by several studies. This influence is significant in nutritional maladies and in infectious diseases, whoseoccurrence is dependent on material condition of life. Malnutrition is almost nil among the secular-sacerdotal functionaries of tribal communities as they are materially well off, whereas the commoners mostly suffer from this malady.Inflectious diseases occur more among the uneducated persons in tribal societies.
Differences in disease rate of ethnic groups have been an important problem in epidemiology. Occurrence of sickle cell anaemia has been investigated in this light and inter group variations in its prevalence have been found in Orissa. Tribes belonging to Dravidian language family have reported positive, and their neighboring tribes belonging to the Mundari group have reported negative . Incidence of sickle cell anaemia has been found among the Koya, but the same has no been reported from among the Saora.
